ISLAMABAD: About 87 percent of Pakistanis are of the firm opinion that the country is heading towards the wrong direction.
IPSOS Pakistan has revealed this in its latest survey in which 1,100 people participated. The survey was carried out in the ongoing month, Nov 2021.
According to IPSOS’s fourth quarterly report on Consumer Confidence Index, 43 percent of the countrymen have declared inflation as the biggest problem for the people and the country.
Meanwhile, 14 percent of the respondents declared unemployment to be Pakistan’s top-most and most troubling issue, whereas 12% referred to poverty as the most important matter.
Forty-six percent of the survey’s respondents termed Pakistan’s economic condition as weak and only 5% declared it as correct.
As per the IPSOS, in the last survey, 26% of Pakistanis had declared inflation as the biggest issue of the country. According to the survey, the percentage of respondents who declared coronavirus the most important issue reduced from 18% to 8%.
As far as other issues are concerned, 5% of the respondents termed the tax burden, 4% rupee devaluation, 3% power tariff hikes, 2% corruption, bribery and nepotism the biggest issues facing the country. About 2% viewed loadshedding, 1% interference of departments in each other’s affairs, while 1% called discrimination in the enforcement of law the most serious issue.
The survey revealed that people listed inflation and economic problems on top of all issues. It also noted that rising prices and unemployment are the issues that concern most people.
The percentage of Pakistanis who said the country is headed in the wrong direction, is the highest in 27 months. On Pakistan’s current economic condition, 49% respondents of the survey said it was so-so, but 46% were clear in their answer and said it was weak. Only 5% said the country’s economic condition is strong.
When asked about improvement in the economic situation in the next six months, 64% they don’t see that, while 12% were hopeful that the economy would improve. Twenty-four percent were neither hopeful nor disappointed.
When asked about their personal financial situation, 47% of the respondents said it is weak and unstable, while 5% answered it was strong. However, 48% said their personal financial condition was neither weak nor strong.
According to Ipsos, there was an increase of 20% in the people who observed the financial condition as weak after June 2021. About the improvement in the personal financial condition in the next six months, 63% feared it will remain weak. However, 13% were hopeful it would get better while 24% were unsure in their answer.
